uncle-dave-macon.jpg

The characters in "Araby" are:
The narrator, an unnamed boy, Mangan's sister, Mrs. Mercer, the boy's aunt, and the boy's uncle.

Main Characters:

The narrator: An unnamed Irish Boy who meets a young girl who he is interested in. He has always wanted to engage in a conversation with this girl. At one point in the story he does talk to the girl and they have a planned rendezvous at a Dublin bazaar. The narrator is a dynamic character, driven by his dreams and ambitions, and as he experiences his epiphany at the end of the novel, develops a new perspective on life. He is determined to speak to Mangan's sister, however he does not know how to gather his courage to do. Once he gets to speak to Mangan's sister, all his thoughts are centered around her to the point that he doesn't listen inschool anymore. At the end of the story when the narrator arrives at the bazaar, we realise there is something different about him. He ends up being too shy to purchase anything and he is in fact disappointed at himself. Although he is the main character, he is a flat character because we do not learn much about him, only his intentions and desires.

Mangan's sister: We come across hearing about Mangan's sister who walks in the street while the narrator and his friends usually hide in the shadows of the street. Apparently the narrator is delighted everytime he sees her walk by. He glimpses at her everyday he sees her. forming a sort of attraction for her. One day while Mangan's sister is walking in the street she is confronted by the narrator for the first time.

Narrator's uncle: The boy's uncle is the character who turns the story around according to his actions. He acts either in a wise way or in a nonchallant way towards the fact of giving the narrator money for the train, however, he enables the narrator realise that his needs to attend the bazaar were in fact only derided by vanity.

Secondary Characters:

Narrator's aunt: The boys aunt is the one to understand the narrator. She waits with him while the uncle is to come home, although it puts back the time of the narrator's leave to the bazaar. She can be interpreted as an understanding woman who takes in the narrator's pain of waiting for the money from his uncle. The important line she says is " Can't you give him the money and let him go? You've keep him late enough as it is." (18)

Mrs. Mercer: One of the family friends. She is seen only once in the story and that is when the narrator comes down the stairs from his room to check if his uncle has returned home. Mrs. mercer is described to be an "old garrulous women, a pawnbroker's widow, who collected used stamps for some pious purpose." (18)

Link to:
Plot Setting Theme Mood/Tone Diction Perspective Literary devices

Back to main page